A GRIP ON SPORTS • The biggest upset from Saturday? No local games canceled at the last minute. The biggest upset today? Well, there is only one we can think is really possible. So we will put the Seahawks on upset alert.
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• Yesterday was as packed a day of sports viewing as I can remember. It was so full, the dog couldn’t even entice me out in the nice 40-degree weather for his usual walk (though Kim took pity on him and allowed him to lead her around). From early in the morning until the second half of Arizona State’s win in Corvallis, we watched high-level college basketball, football, occasionally broken up by next-level breaking news.
• We’ll start where the day did, with No. 1 Gonzaga shaking off the rust of a coronavirus-induced layoff and rolling over third-ranked Iowa in, of all places, Sioux Falls, S.D. It was, for the most part, offensive – though in a good way.
Both teams rely on their offenses and it showed, though the game was decided by a strong first-half defensive stretch by GU.
As the Zags improve on that end, it’s going to make it tougher and tougher to remove the NCAA-favorite label. There will be games in which the Bulldogs can’t solve what the opponent is doing to their free-flowing offensive attack (for the most recent high-profile example, think Texas Tech in the 2019 NCAA Tournament). That’s when the defense will have to keep them close and give them a chance to work out the kinks. It will happen.
• A little inside baseball for you. Our TV Take from Gonzaga basketball games (and, when assigned, WSU football games) is given a deadline. It’s as soon as possible after the game ends. Which means sometimes we have to take a leap of faith. Yesterday was one of those days.
We wrote this sentence about the officiating crew: “Many of the second-half calls that put the Gonzaga bigs in foul trouble came from Larry Scirotto …” It was an impression at the time, not backed up by anything other than a trust in 40 years of watching college hoops.
But that wasn’t good enough. So I watched the game again yesterday and charted every whistle to ensure that impression was correct. It was.
The trio of Scirotto, Keith Kimble and Kelly Pfeifer did a great job in the first half controlling the action without intruding on it. The second half? Not so much. What changed?
It’s nothing but conjecture but it was obvious Iowa coach Fran McCaffery was not happy with the first-half whistles. As an aside, his track record, including a two-game suspension in 2019 for calling an official an (obscene adjective) “cheater,” shows. The focus of his ire seemed to be Scirotto.
In the first half, there were 16 foul calls, evenly split between the teams. At the end there were 43 fouls, 23 of them on GU, even though Iowa fouled late on purpose.
Overall Pfeifer called 14, six on Gonzaga. Kimble called 14, seven on each. Which left 15 for Scirotto, two-thirds of which were on the Zags. The second half, when our impression was fixed, he called 10, eight of them on GU. (One of Iowa’s was in the last 90 seconds, and was done on purpose.)
We assign no motivation. There could be many reasons for the figures, including court positioning and luck. It didn’t make a difference in the outcome. The numbers are what they are. And our impression was correct.
• Due to the Gonzaga assignment, we didn’t see much of the first half of the Cougar game. We regret that.
Not only did Washington State play well, we don’t like missing what turned out to be 10 percent of the 2020 WSU football season. Maybe the best 10 percent.
The second half was obviously the worst 10 percent.
The final 20 minutes also makes one wonder if Jayden de Laura’s opening-game performance against Oregon State (and the Beavers’ suspect defense) was an aberration, not a projection of future success. Since the OSU game, de Laura has been pedestrian at best, with some high points but way too many low ones.
The best part of this season just completed, however, is everyone gets a do-over. De Laura will still be a freshman next year but one with 129 passing attempts in his pocket. That’s a nice way to begin a college career.
It will be interesting to see how solid his starting role is to Nick Rolovich, however. Cammon Cooper and Gunner Cruz didn’t lose any eligibility either and both showed signs of competency in their cameos. After next spring’s practices (knock on wood they can happen), we’ll see if all three decide to stay in Pullman for the fall season or if one or more move on for a chance to play more.
• We’re upset. Not so much with Pasadena or California, which hasn’t allowed fans at sporting events for months. Or with the Rose Bowl organizing committee, who wanted to keep the College Football Playoff game in their stadium. We’re not even all that mad at the coaches who used players’ parents and families as cover when they really want their fans in the stands to help them win.
No, we’re upset with the CFP organizers, who will announce their semifinal choices today.
They knew California hasn’t allowed spectators since the pandemic started. And yet they waited until the last few days to make a change. So now, at almost the last minute, the semifinal has been moved to Texas.
Why couldn’t this have been done months ago? Maybe switch one of the bowls, throw in some money and allow the Rose Bowl to play New Year’s Day instead of another bowl?
Not knowing all the inner workings, maybe they tried. But there has been no evidence of that. And now, for the first time since before World War I, there is a chance there won’t be a Rose Bowl game at all. If it does occur, it will be the first time since World War II it won’t be in Pasadena.
Finally, the idea that the game is being moved because of a growth in COVID-19 in Pasadena, as cited by the CFP folks, is ludicrous. The rate of infection is higher in the Texas county the game will be played than it is in Los Angeles County, according to The Athletic. In the end, honesty was a victim here too.
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WSU: Theo Lawson was in Salt Lake City yesterday (we have photographic proof) to cover the end of the Cougars’ season. He has his analysis of the contest, a story on the players’ families making the trek to the game, the difference makers and a story on Max Borghi’s day. It’s a lot for one person to put together. … The folks in the home office put together a recap with highlights. … The second-half comeback was the focus of the coverage from Utah, as it should be. There is one senior who will remember this game forever. … The WSU women rallied to defeat No. 21 Oregon State in Pullman. … Around the Pac-12 and college football, the big news from Saturday was more about what isn’t going to happen than what did. Besides the Rose Bowl move, USC announced it was not going to attend a bowl game this season. With the Trojans opting out, that leaves Oregon and Colorado as the only two Pac-12 teams who will go bowling. … Stanford and UCLA played a back-and-forth game in the Rose Bowl, with the Cardinal finally winning in double overtime. Once again a bad mark – on a fourth-quarter Stanford fourth-down play that was obviously short – decided who won. It was an awful season for Pac-12 line judges. … UCLA’s Chip Kelly had enough of this season, opting to go for two in the second overtime. The Bruins came up short. … Arizona State’s offensive hot streak continued in Corvallis as the Sun Devils rolled over host Oregon State. The Beavers only won two games, but they showed improvement from last year. … It’s going to cost Arizona dearly to cut ties with Kevin Sumlin. … In basketball news, the conference had one more chance to win a higher-profile nonconference game. UCLA failed against Ohio State on national TV. Don’t expect a lot of Pac-12 teams in the NCAA Tournament. … Washington’s starting point guard has had a circuitous journey. … The Huskies play Colorado today in Las Vegas. … Oregon lost its starting center for the season but defeated Portland yesterday. … The biggest news in hoops, though, was Stanford defeating Arizona for the first time since 2009. The game was in Santa Cruz.
Gonzaga: Yesterday began with the Zags’ 99-88 win over third-ranked Iowa. Jim Meehan had the game analysis and the difference makers, which included Joel Ayayi and his GU guard record of 18 rebounds. … John Blanchette watched from Spokane and has this column. … As I linked above, I had a TV Take. … There is also a recap with highlights. … We can pass along photos from the game as well as thoughts from others. … The Gonzaga women are in Las Vegas for two games prior to the opening of the conference season. Jim Allen has a preview. … Former GU player Zach Collins is not getting an extension from Portland right now. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU’s Friday win over San Diego State adds another chapter to the former rivalry. … Pepperdine had trouble handling UCSB’s guards in a home loss. … UC Irvine handed USD another loss. … Saint Mary’s crushed Colorado State.
EWU: The Eagles cleared the testing protocols and finally began the Big Sky season with a game at Northern Arizona. It was a second-half blowout as Tanner Groves’ 26 points and 13 rebounds keyed an 80-64 victory. Ryan Collingwood has more in this story. … Around the Big Sky, Montana’s football roster is going to be tough to figure out.
Seahawks: DK Metcalf is on the verge of breaking one of Steve Largent’s records. Largent is all for it. … If the Hawks win today, they are headed to the playoffs. The last time they played the NFC-leading team, however, things didn’t go as planned. … Some long-injured players will be available today, including Rashaad Penny. … Will Dissly is trying to block better. … If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Ron Rivera is flattering the Hawks.
Sounders: The restaurants and bars around Lumen Field are suffering without fans at the Sounders’ matches. So the organization did something to help.
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• We are having crab cakes for lunch. On a bed of lettuce. It seems appropriate for a game with the Washington Football Team. D.C. is close to the Chesapeake Bay and Washington runs on taxpayer-supplied lettuce (and, yes, I’m old enough to remember when that was slang for money). OK, it’s a reach. But it should taste good anyway. Until later …
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